Proverbs Chapter 1
The beginning to wisdom
Verse 20-30 She shouts but they don’t listen
Wisdom calls aloud outside; She raises her voice in the open squares. She cries out in the chief concourses, At the openings of the gates in the city (vs 20-21).
Wisdom is called a woman because wisdom is as beautiful as a woman. In verse 9, we can wear wisdom like an ornament on our heads or a chain around our necks. Wisdom makes anyone spiritually beautiful.
When I think on wisdom shouting in the streets, I think of a street preacher of the gospel. One who frequents city fairs, plazas and malls proclaiming the good news of God’s kingdom. But people often respond with mockery and contempt. Wisdom has this response:
How much longer will you enjoy being stupid fools? Won’t you ever stop sneering and laughing at knowledge? (vs 22 CEV)
In essence, anyone who doesn’t believe and obey the gospel is a fool. A person is stupid to turn away the wisdom that is able to safeguard their lives today and secure it in Christ Jesus for all eternity. A person has be a fool to continue in conscious, known sin and think that they have a place with God in heaven. But they not only reject wisdom, they have contempt for it and laugh at it.
Verses 23-26. Therefore, disaster and calamity is bound to come in the lives of fools. But because of their mockery, Wisdom’s response is to now laugh at them and mock them in their disastrous state. This is a fitting.
Verses 26-30. As destruction comes upon the fools, they “wise up” and look for those who once warned them, but they won’t find them. If they do find that gospel preacher, that wise parent or leader, and the God who created wisdom, they won’t help them. It’s too late. Fools will begin to pray diligently but God won’t even listen. And why does all this happen? Because they didn’t obey God and respect him when they had the chance, and on top of that, they mocked God and his servants. Now they get to eat the fruit of their foolishness. A sad ending for fools.
Conclusion: Don’t be foolish.
Let’s respect and obey God now, when we have the chance. Many (including professing Christians) have scorned and mocked the message of repentance and holiness, but a day will come (if they don’t repent) that all that smiling, laughter and contempt will be turned into sadness.
Jesus said, before the end of the world comes, it will be like the days of Noah and the days of Lot (Luke 17:26-30). Both times, the people laughed at the coming destruction. In Noah’s day, as he preached to the whole world (2 Peter 2:5), they didn’t believe God would wash them all away with water from heaven. In Lot’s day, the husbands of his daughters didn’t believe that God was going to destroy everyone in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:14). But God did. They aren’t laughing now.
Compare Noah’s and Lot’s days to our own: there’s eating, drinking, people getting married and business as usual, but sin abounds in our land (Gen 6:5). No one seems to understand how immoral a supposedly civilized society like America has become. Example: violent gang crime; corrupted government and business officials; increased teen pregnancy, child molestation, perverted and promiscuous people, pornography, abortion, teachers having sex with their students, and the acceptance of people who sodomize one another and call it love.
Homosexuality is becoming the norm and is even taught in schools. Soon everyone (apart from the righteous) will be “going both ways”. Sodomy has penetrated churches, leadership and entertainment. Our land is in the last days. This is what Jesus said was going to happen before ‘all hell breaks loose’. We need to obey God and repent while there’s still time. Religion doesn’t save us, works don’t save us, simply mental acknowledgment of Jesus won’t save us – only faith in Jesus Christ which leads to obedience saves us. Let’s respect and obey God through the power of his Spirit.
Great study Neal. Bless you for sharing it with us. I never really distinguished knowledge from wisdom until you showed it clearly in this post.
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First of all, this is a great article. I’m looking for material to share with my fellowship and I found your writing. Thank you so much for writing, and keep on writing more! God bless you.
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Good stuff
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